thisavrou | [video] BACKDATED to 11/19

[The feed turns on to show a very pale, very tired-looking dark-haired man. It's a moment before he speaks.]

My name is Greg Vorbarra. I know that everyone has seen more than their fair share of tragedy in the past few days and that many of you won't know me, but you may know my foster-brother, Miles. He-- [He has to stop and take a slow, steady breath, but his voice doesn't shake.]

Clark Kent confirmed that he was killed yesterday attempting to rescue civilians from the planet's surface. On--where Ivan, Miles, and I are from, it's customary to burn an offering for the dead. Something personal. A small clipping of hair is traditional, but anything that will catch fire will do. Miles was-- [His voice cracks very slightly now before he wrests control of himself again, his dark eyes focused.] Miles was a singular personality. He was clever, and brave, and brilliant, and kind, a collection of traits I have found to be exceedingly rare. I miss him very much. If that's a sentiment you share, I would be privileged to accept an offering for us to burn. Our room is 009, on Nomo Deck.

Thank you.

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[Tali doesn't reply to the message - it seems the kind of thing to talk about in person, privately. It's a little while, though, before she leaves her shift in Engineering to go to Nomo deck, and a few moments of standing outside Nomo 009 psyching herself up before she hits the chime.

She looks as tired right then as Greg does, and without her mask on to hide it - grey-purple skin pale, her usually slightly glowing eyes flat white. She tries to offer something of a smile when he answers the door, but it falls far short.] Hey, ah... Sorry, we've never met - I'm Tali. I...knew Miles.

Tali. [Gregor's eyes widen very fractionally but he has no other reaction to Tali's appearance, and he ducks his head slightly.] I'm sorry we couldn't meet for the first time under better circumstances.

[He steps back from the door.] Please, come in, if you'd like.

[She's not sure if he's startled that she's an alien or startled that she looks like hell, but she doesn't want to acknowledge either one of those things.] Me too.

[The room gets a cursory glance - she's never been in one of the Nomo Deck rooms and it looks so different to Mero's as to be on a different ship, maybe even from a different time. But it's not important right now.]

How are you holding up? If there's anything I can do...

[The answer is fairly obvious, and there's probably nothing she can do, but she's not entirely sure what to say. She's not sure just how aliens deal with these situations.]

I'm... holding up. Thank you. You being here means a great deal.

Miles was... [He pauses, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly, though his eyes are still tired.] An extremely polarizing personality, but a powerful one at that. I know he had many friends on the ship, but I haven't seen very many of them myself. It helps, to get to meet people he knew now. So thank you.

[As Greg talks of his brother, Tali bows her head in respect, eyes closed - though her eyes close as much to stop the tears from leaking from them as anything else. It's not her time to be emotional; she can do that alone, later. She came to help Miles's family, in whatever small way she can.

She eventually looks up.] He was one of the first people I met when I arrived - they brought us here at the same time. He, ah... I'm alone here - the only quarian. Miles was one of the people who made it feel like it mattered a lot less, you know? [She's not completely alone - Shepard is here from home, Niko and Ratchet from the last place she ended up - but if anyone here has been able to make her feel like this new place might not be quite so daunting, so lonely without her own people, it's Miles.]

Whatever I can do to help his family, just ask.

Hello Greg, Ivan came to see me and he told me about this-- if there's some brown hair around

[Read: eight inches of it.]

it's mine. I don't know if Ivan would tell you or not, but Miles was a friend to me when he didn't have to be. I'm going to miss him, but I'm sure you and Ivan will be feeling this for a while so... if you need anything, please let me know. ~Elizabeth

Elizabeth, Thank you. That... was one of Miles' specialties, actually. And it means a great deal--both your contribution and your offer of assistance. We consider you a friend too. Please feel free to come to us if there's anything you need, as well. Regards, Gregor

[Zam ignores the message at first. She doesn’t want to think about the the life lost on the planet and she almost resents the sender for distilling the pain down to the death of one person when an entire world had been lost. It’s unpleasant enough thinking about it as a number without knowing names.

But then she hears the name in question and she looks down at her MID with a frown. Miles… He’s just an acquaintance to her, but he’s an acquaintance who literally ran through broken glass to help her back on Cadacus Primary, and she’s painfully aware that without his help, she might not have made it back to the ship at all. She had been looking for him for the past day or so, hoping to thank him under less chaotic circumstances. At least now she knows why she didn't find him.

She’s not the most religious person; she’s a certified blasphemer and heretic after all. But she knows when respect is due. A few minutes later, there’s a knock on the door of Nomo 009.] Hi. I, uh… I brought something. [She’s not sure whether her offering is sufficient but she hands it over anyways. It’s a torn strip of fabric, violet on one side and red on the other. For someone who deals in death, she isn’t very experienced with mourning. She at least knows one thing she’s supposed to say though:] I’m sorry for your loss.

Edited 2015-12-04 02:33 (UTC)

[Gregor looks down at the small scrap of fabric in Zam's hand and cups his own to take it.]

Thank you. I know we're not the only ones, and that everyone is mourning in their own way, but... this is ours. [He folds slow fingers around the fabric, his dark eyes quiet when he looks back up at her.] This means a great deal. ...would you tell me your name? I'll respect your privacy if not, please don't feel obligated.

[She feels a sense of unease when he mentions the other mourners. Her offering suddenly feels counterfeit knowing it will be burned along with the offerings of people who actually knew the man who died as more than a serendipitous rescuer. She looks at the scrap of fabric in the man’s hand with something like misgiving.]

I’m Zam Wesell. I… didn’t actually know Miles very well. [It feels like the wrong thing to say.] But if it hadn’t been for him, I probably would’ve lost a lot more than an arm on that planet. [She manages a regretful smile.] I don’t think a little piece of cloth is going to get us even, but maybe it’s a start.

I'm glad to meet you, Zam.

[His eyes flick down to his closed palm briefly, then back up, watching her face.]

It's not about even. [Gregor's voice is slow, almost thoughtful.] If you feel you have a debt to repay, that's on your own ledger. This is more of a goodbye. Or a sign of respect. Or a recognition that we're all ash, one way or another, even if some of us get there first or in a more spectacular fashion. I'd never known Miles to be at the back of a queue, and whatever else can be said about him, he was certainly spectacular. [Gregor's mouth tilts up in a little smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes.]

But I also know that Miles wouldn't feel that you owed him anything. Daring rescues were his specialty.

Hmm. Strange how traditions are so different from realm to realm sometimes, and yet so similar, at the same time. On Asgard, we burn our dead entirely- unless there's nothing to burn. In which case, we do much the same as you.

[Which is a very roundabout way of saying sorry for your loss, Greg, but Loki's bad at sympathy.]

Kindness is rare enough a trait on its own, I've found, in or out of combination with any other trait.

I lit my father's pyre when I was four years old. Miles' body was lost with the planet, and this is all we have--though we burn offerings for our dead periodically, not just on the occasion of the death itself.

[Gregor hears at least a little of what Loki's not saying, whether he acknowledges it or not.]

Miles was the most ferociously kind person I've ever known. He wasn't always gentle about it, but when he helped you, by God, you stayed helped. You wouldn't dare be anything else, afterwards.

[video] BACKDATED to 11/19

action!...and the icons are a dirty, dirty lie oops

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action; also jsyk one of zam's arms has been amputated

FUN TIMES

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